JavaScript lets you supercharge your HTML with animation, interactivity, and visual effects—but many web designers find the language hard to learn. This easy-to-read guide not only covers JavaScript basics, but also shows you how to save time and effort with the jQuery and jQuery UI libraries of prewritten JavaScript code. You’ll build web pages that feel and act like desktop programs—with little or no programming.

The important stuff you need to know:

Pull back the curtain on JavaScript. Learn how to build a basic program with this language.

Get up to speed on jQuery. Quickly assemble JavaScript programs that work well on multiple web browsers.

David Sawyer McFarland

David Sawyer McFarland, president of Sawyer McFarland Media, has been building and managing websites since 1995. He is also a writer and trainer, and teaches in the Portland State University multimedia program. He wrote the bestselling Missing Manual titles on Adobe Dreamweaver, CSS, and JavaScript.

I'm still reading it, along with another book of Javascript (Head First), and so far, is exactly what I wanted. Clear, entertaining, and covers a wide variety of topics. I like it, I hope so until the end of the book.

* its step by step tutorial teach you how to insert empty line in text editor, repeat in almost every chapter

* it assuming that you don't know what if/else statement is too

* some poor explanations and examples that author had to use more words to explain itself all over again, thus a lot "for example" follow by another "for example"

* too much redundant/repeat content, ctrl-c and ctrl-v everywhere

* as point 3 described, some poor explanations and examples that author had to use more words to explain itself all over again, thus a lot "for example" follow by another "for example", and none of it is practicable (see what i mean in "ctrl-c and ctrl-v"?)

I consider myself a good middleweight front end developer but this has taught me so much which I seem to have missed! So many simple things you miss out on when you're rushing to get a project finished and find a solution - a must have read for anyone keeping up to date with their JS and jQuery, and for filling in the gaps.